Box Score NEW ORLEANS ? North Texas guard Collin Dennis' layup with three seconds left lifted the Mean Green to a thrilling 79-77 win over New Orleans on Saturday at the Human Performance Center.
UNO junior forward Kyndall Dykes was whistled for goaltending after Dennis took an inbounds pass at halfcourt and had his layup rejected off the glass.
Dykes then had a potential game-tying layup rim out at the buzzer, handing North Texas (19-10, 10-8 Sun Belt) its first win over UNO (18-12, 8-10) in six tries.
Dennis finished with a game-high 24 points, and Quincy Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Mean Green. North Texas put four scorers in double figures and enjoyed a 38-29 rebounding advantage.
Bo McCalebb led the Privateers with 23 points and seven assists, and James Parlow had 14 points ? 12 in the second half. Dykes also had 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
UNO, which defeated North Texas 83-61 in Denton on Jan. 17, dropped its third straight contest at home. It was Senior Day for McCalebb, Parlow, Ben Elias, Shaun Reynolds, Jacob Manning and Asrangue Souleymane.
North Texas shot 56 percent in the second half and 50 percent for the game.
UNO had a 15-2 run in the first half and led 40-37 at the break despite being out-rebounded 24-15 in the frame.
The Privateers led 71-66 with 2:31 to play, but North Texas got a layup from Williams and a 3-pointer from Ben Bell to tie it at 71-71 with 1:38 to play.
North Texas grabbed a three-point lead with 27 seconds left, but McCalebb hit two free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining to tie it at 77-77 and setting up Dennis' heroics.
UNO will be the No. 8 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and will host No. 9 seed Denver in the first round at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. North Texas will be the No. 6 seed and will host No. 11 Arkansas State on Wednesday.
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